CMS Migration Update is a weekly digest of news and other information related to national and international migration.  It is designed to educate faith leaders regarding vulnerable immigrant populations, developments in the immigration field, pastoral resources and the religious touchstones of diverse faith traditions on migrants and newcomers. It should not be relied upon to provide advice or counsel in immigration cases. The publication is provided by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), an educational institute/think-tank devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees and newcomers. CMS is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network, an international network of shelters, welcoming centers, and other ministries for migrants.
Thomas J. Shea
Editor
Rachel Reyes
Communications Coordinator
October 27, 2015
Special Edition of CMS Migration Update on Global Refugee Crisis
This Special Second Anniversary Edition of the CMS Migration Update covers the global refugee crisis, with a focus on refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. More than four-and-a-half years have passed since the civil war in Syria broke out. Since then, more than four million refugees have fled Syria. Most have relocated in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. However, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, as well as migrants from other countries, are seeking protection in the European Union (EU).  EU member states have adopted differing policies on whether and how to take in refugees. In EU states that have embraced generous refugee resettlement policies, such as Germany and Sweden, anti-immigrant sentiment has increased. Other states have adopted more restrictive measures and increased border enforcement, such as Hungary. As a result, migrants and refugees are forced to find alternative – often longer and more dangerous - routes to enter Western Europe. Pope Francis has called the international community to show compassion and solidarity with migrants and refugees, saying that "in view of the tragedy of tens of thousands fleeing from death due to war and hunger, we should show our closeness to the smaller and the abandoned" through concrete steps that can give migrants and refugees hope.

Main Asylum Routes into the European Union

Stratfor (October 1, 2015)
 
This map shows the main routes of entry for migrants and refugees into the European Union and the primary nationalities of migrants using those routes.
 
To see more, visit https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/515194/B2C_content/B2CWF1/Europe_EU_Asylum_Routes-infographic.jpg.

Statement by H.E. Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva at the General Debate of the 66th Session of the Executive Committee of UNHCR Geneva 

(October 8, 2015)
 
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi writes that there are 60 million people in the world today who have been forced to leave their homes. The 1951 Convention on the Protection of Refugees provides that state signatories -- not just refugee-hosting countries -- share responsibility for taking care of refugees. He writes that the Syrian refugee crisis exemplifies that people flee their countries because of persecution or lack of hope. More than 3,000 migrants have died already this year attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea fleeing conflict and dire poverty in hopes of better lives. Archbishop Tomasi states that the priority should be to save lives. He calls on the international community to develop and coordinate a system to govern the movement of populations that will effectively respond to refugee crises. He states also that the root causes that force people to migrate must be addressed “by ensuring peace and sustainable development[.]”
 
To read more, visit http://cmsny.org/wp-content/uploads/Tomasi-UNHCR-66th-EXCOM.pdf. 

Avoiding Risky Seas, Migrants Reach Europe With an Arctic Bike Ride

The New York Times (October 9, 2015)
 
In recent months, refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan have crossed the border from Russia to the northernmost reaches of Europe, such as Storskog, Norway, 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, which borders Russia. Many are seeking protection from war and persecution. Only a handful of asylum seekers crossed earlier in the year. However, 420 asylum seekers have entered Storskog by bike since September.  According to the article, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has cited the crossing as an example of migrants creating alternatives to enter Europe when the governments try to close access through central and southern Europe.
 
To read more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/world/europe/bypassing-the-risky-sea-refugees-reach-europe-through-the-arctic.html?emc=edit_tnt_20151009&nlid=47251438&tntemail0=y.

Political Backlash Against Merkel Grows Over Refugee Crisis

German chancellor faces pressure from political allies to limit the migrant influx
The Wall Street Journal (October 9, 2015)
 
Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “open-arms policy” towards migrants appears to be declining. A recent poll indicated that 51 percent of Germans believe the country cannot cope with the many migrants allowed entry, up from 40 percent only two weeks prior. In addition, the Prime Minister of the German state of Bavaria has threatened to sue the German government unless it limits the admission of migrants into Germany. The Prime Minister is a conservative member of Chancellor Merkel’s governing coalition. Bavaria bears the brunt of the migrant crisis. Most migrants traveling to Germany first enter through Bavaria via the West Balkan route from Turkey and Greece into Western Europe. Other German leaders have also called for limits on migration on the grounds that this would help with the integration of migrants already in the country. According to this article, Merkel has no plans at this time to back down from receiving more migrants. Germany is expecting to receive 800,000 to one million migrants this year.

To read more, visit http://www.wsj.com/articles/political-backlash-against-merkel-grows-over-refugee-crisis-1444411824.

Syrian Refugees in Jersey City Are Among Few to Start New Life in U.S.

The New York Times (October 13, 2015)
 
This article recounts the story of Mr. Hussam Al Roustom, one of only 1,682 Syrian refugees resettled in the United States since October 1, 2014. He, his wife, and two children were resettled in Jersey City, New Jersey from a refugee camp in Jordan. The article reports that four million Syrians have been displaced since the start of the civil war in Syria. The United States recently announced that it would take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, but refugee resettlement agencies are calling on the Obama administration to admit 100,000 Syrian refugees. The US government has for years worked with refugee resettlement agencies to assist new arrivals with housing, job training, medical care, cultural orientation, and English-language classes. The article provides a summary of how refugee resettlement agencies choose which refugees to resettle in the United States.
 
To read more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/nyregion/syrian-refugees-in-jersey-city-are-among-few-to-start-new-life-in-us.html?emc=edit_tnt_20151013&nlid=47251438&tntemail0=y.

Refugee Crisis: Slovenia Steps up as Hungary Closes Border

Country of 2 million accepts influx on condition migrants allowed into Austria, Germany
CBC News (October 17, 2015)
 
Hungary closed its border with Croatia, causing thousands of refugees and migrants seeking entry into Western Europe to move from Croatia on to Slovenia in an effort to reach Austria or Germany. The Slovenian government reportedly plans on keeping its border with Croatia open as long as Austria and Germany continue to permit the migrants to enter their countries. This article reports that Slovenia may not have the capacity to process all the migrants seeking transit through the country to Austria and Germany. It also notes that Hungary’s border closure -- in contrast to Germany’s and Sweden’s more welcoming policies -- is the latest example of the European Union’s uncoordinated response to the refugee crisis.
 
To read more, visit http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/refugee-crisis-hungary-slovenia-1.3276206.

Syria Refugees: Bishops Urge David Cameron to Do More

BBC (October 18, 2015)
 
On September 10th, eighty-four bishops from the Church of England wrote a private letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron asking him to permit Great Britain to accept 50,000 Syrian refugees. The government had previously agreed to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020 but the church leaders felt that the number was too little “to meet the scale and severity of the problem.” The bishops encouraged Prime Minister Cameron to act and also offered to facilitate action in collaboration with other civil society organizations. The bishops said that they would encourage their churches and congregations to take in Syrian refugees. According to the article, the bishops decided to go public about the letter because of what they considered to be an inadequate response from the Cameron government. 
 
To read more, visit http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34564894.

Pope Francis: Angelus Appeal for Migrant Families

Vatican Radio (October 25, 2015)
 
As part of the closing of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which has been meeting in Rome for the past three weeks, Pope Francis took the opportunity of his weekly Angelus address to call for “prayerful and practical solidarity” with families forced to flee their countries due to strife and to seek protection in other countries. Citing a reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah that relates God’s promise to help the faithful gain liberty, the Holy Father compared the faithful in the reading to modern day refugees who are “weeping and uprooted from their lands” and fleeing to Europe. The Holy Father said  that “the Church does not abandon them, for they are part of the people that God desires to free from slavery and lead to freedom.”
 
To read more, visit http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-angelus-appeal-for-migrant-families.
 
To read full text translated in English, visit http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/full-text-pope-s-angelus-address--2. 
NEW FROM CMS

International Migration, Human Dignity and the Challenge of Sovereignty

(October 26, 2015)
 
In a talk delivered at the Fifth International Forum on Migration and Peace in Berlin, Germany, CMS Executive Director, Donald Kerwin, addresses the complex relationship between the concept of sovereignty and person-centered, rights-respecting migration policies.
 
To read more, visit http://cmsny.org/kerwin-migrationdignitysovereignty/. 
 

OCTOBER 28 EVENT

2015 Annual Academic & Policy Symposium


On October 28th, leading migration scholars and other experts will gather for CMS’s annual academic and policy symposium to discuss emerging and cutting-edge migration issues. This year’s meeting will focus on migration and development scholarship, as well as research and policy developments on national and international refugee protection issues.

Registration is full. Watch the webcast at http://cmsny.org/2015symposium/. 

OCTOBER 28 EVENT

2015 Annual Gala


Join government officials, policymakers, scholars, experts, civil society members, staff and colleagues for an elegant evening celebrating the work of the Center for Migration Studies of New York, as well as prominent honorees, on October 28, 2015.
 
For more details, visit http://cmsny.org/2015gala/. 

CMS Co-Founder Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Priesthood


Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, c.s. celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest at a mass on October 24, 2015 at Our Lady of Pompeii Church, where he celebrated his first mass. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn and Chairman of CMS’s Board of Trustees, concelebrated the mass and offered words of praise about Archbishop Tomasi’s long and faithful service to the Catholic Church.

Fr. Peter W. Zendzian Dies 


Fr. Peter Zendzian, pastor of St. Matthias parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn, passed away unexpectedly on October 23, 2015. Fr. Zendzian, who spoke five languages, was a tireless, energetic, and devoted servant and champion to immigrants and refugees. Among his many positions, Fr. Zendzian served as the Director of the former Office for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees (PCMR) at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The funeral mass for Fr. Zendzian will take place at St. Matthias Church on Tuesday October 27th at 11 a.m. He will be sorely missed.
 
For more details, please see http://www.papaverotributelink.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3360978&fh_id=12205.

If you are a migrant or pastoral worker and wish to submit an article or reflection to the CMS Migration Update, please email Tom Shea at tshea@cmsny.org

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